Everything workers need to safely handle blood and bodily-fluid exposure at work, universal precautions, PPE, sharps safety, spill cleanup, and immediate exposure response, in one concise, self-paced online course.
Bloodborne pathogens are infectious microorganisms present in human blood and certain other bodily fluids that can cause serious disease. The three most significant in workplace health and safety contexts are Hepatitis B (HBV), Hepatitis C (HCV), and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Exposure, through a needlestick, a cut with a contaminated sharp, a splash to the eyes or mouth, or contact with broken skin, can have life-altering or fatal consequences.
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), universal precautions, treating all blood and certain bodily fluids as potentially infectious regardless of a person's known status, are the foundational defence against occupational exposure. Training workers in these precautions is not optional: it is a legal obligation under occupational health and safety legislation across Canada, and is required annually in most regulated workplace settings.
Despite the serious risks, bloodborne pathogen exposures are almost entirely preventable with the right knowledge and habits. This course gives every worker exactly that, the awareness, procedures, and confidence to protect themselves and others from occupational exposure.
The Bloodborne Pathogens Certification course by the Canadian Health Care Provider Training Institute (CHCPTI) is a practical, workplace-focused online training program that teaches healthcare, laboratory, and public safety workers how to prevent exposure to bloodborne pathogens, and how to respond swiftly and correctly if an incident does occur.
The course is delivered entirely through short video lessons, making it one of the most accessible and engaging bloodborne pathogens training options available in Canada. It is beginner-level, self-paced, and can be completed in approximately one hour from any device with internet access. Upon passing the final certification exam, learners receive a downloadable certificate of completion.
CHCPTI also offers a range of complementary safety and healthcare courses, including IPAC infection control training, Fire Safety certification, WHMIS training, and BLS certification online. Browse all available online safety courses for Canadians.
The course walks through the full prevention-to-response cycle for bloodborne pathogen exposure. By the time you pass the exam, you'll have a solid, practical command of every topic below.
What bloodborne pathogens are, and the three most significant ones in the workplace, HBV, HCV, and HIV, plus how each is transmitted.
What an Exposure Control Plan (ECP) is, what it must contain, and your responsibilities under it as a worker.
Why every exposure is treated as potentially infectious, and how consistent precautions make exposure unlikely.
Choosing the right gloves, masks, eye protection, and gowns for each scenario, and correct hand-hygiene technique.
Safe handling of needles and sharps, why recapping is prohibited, and proper sharps-container disposal.
Safely cleaning blood and bodily-fluid spills using PPE, absorbents, and approved disinfectants.
The correct first-minute steps after any contact, flush, doff, and report, to reduce infection risk.
Exposure reporting, follow-up testing, and documentation requirements, including OSHA Form 300 awareness.
Each lesson builds directly on the last, one clear topic at a time, followed by a nine-question certification exam.
Sets the stage for the full course, what bloodborne pathogen training covers, why it's required, and what you'll be able to do on completion, from understanding transmission to responding to a workplace exposure.
Why this training is legally required, what an Exposure Control Plan contains, how to recognize the three major diseases (HBV, HCV, HIV), and how to respond safely when an occupational exposure occurs.
The prevention core: universal precautions, selecting and using PPE, proper handwashing, environmental safety checks, and safe biohazard disposal, the daily practices that make exposure unlikely.
Immediate response steps for any incident: correct glove removal, OSHA-aligned sharps handling, and, critically, why recapping needles is unsafe and strictly prohibited in every occupational health setting.
The correct procedure for safely cleaning blood and bodily-fluid spills, donning appropriate PPE, using absorbent materials, applying approved disinfectants, and disposing of contaminated waste per facility policy.
Why immediate reporting is critical, some preventive treatments must begin within hours to be effective. Covers follow-up testing, the OSHA Form 300 process, and who is covered under BBP regulations.
Closes the course by emphasizing annual retraining, keeping your certificate on file as proof of compliance, and completing any additional on-site or facility-specific training your employer requires.
Pass the nine-question exam to earn your downloadable certificate. Unlimited attempts, review any lesson and retake as needed.
These three pose the most significant occupational risk to Canadian workers. Understanding each explains why universal precautions must be applied consistently, every single time.
Highly infectious, up to 100 times more transmissible than HIV through bloodborne routes. HBV can survive on surfaces for up to 7 days. A vaccine is available and strongly recommended for all healthcare workers. Without vaccination, exposure from a known-positive source carries a transmission risk of up to 30%.
No vaccine currently exists for HCV, making prevention through universal precautions the only defence. HCV can lead to chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. The average transmission risk following a needlestick from an HCV-positive source is roughly 1.8%, making sharps safety a critical priority.
HIV attacks the immune system and, untreated, can progress to AIDS. The occupational transmission risk from a single needlestick is approximately 0.3%. While statistically lower than HBV or HCV, the severity of HIV makes rapid post-exposure reporting and prophylaxis essential.
Knowing what to do in the first minutes can significantly reduce the risk of infection. The course teaches this exact sequence.
For skin, wash thoroughly with soap and water. For eyes, nose, or mouth, flush with clean water for at least 15 minutes. Do not scrub, squeeze, or use harsh disinfectants on wounds.
Follow the correct doffing sequence to avoid self-contamination. Remove gloves first using the peel-and-roll method, then dispose of all contaminated PPE in biohazard containers.
Notify your supervisor and occupational health right away. Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV is most effective within 2 hours and must begin within 72 hours.
A qualified provider assesses the exposure, evaluates the source if known, recommends baseline testing, and advises on prophylaxis options for HBV and HIV.
Ensure the incident is documented in your facility's system. Under OSHA standards this includes contributing to OSHA Form 300. Documentation protects both worker and employer.
This certification is for anyone who may reasonably encounter blood or certain bodily fluids at work, a much broader group than most people assume.
Nurses, physicians, EMTs, technicians, phlebotomists, and dental staff.
Unit coordinators, patient transport, housekeeping, laundry and linen, and maintenance workers.
Specimen-handling staff who work regularly with blood samples and biological materials.
Those providing personal care in private residences.
Clinical and non-clinical roles alike in long-term care and retirement homes.
First responders, security personnel, and correctional officers who may encounter blood in emergencies.
Tattoo artists, body piercers, and others who work with sharps.
Those entering healthcare or public safety placements for the first time.
A central concept in this course is the Exposure Control Plan (ECP), your workplace's written plan for preventing and managing bloodborne pathogen exposures. Under Canadian occupational health and safety legislation, most employers whose workers may encounter bloodborne pathogens are required to have an ECP in place. Workers are expected to understand and comply with it.
A comprehensive ECP typically includes:
This course gives you the foundational knowledge to understand, follow, and apply your workplace's ECP, and to recognize situations where the plan may not be being followed correctly. For additional guidance, the CCOHS resource on universal precautions is the authoritative Canadian reference on this topic. Provincial resources are also available through Ontario's Ministry of Labour and equivalent bodies across Canada.
After completing all seven video lessons, learners take a 9-question Bloodborne Pathogens Certification exam. A passing score is required to receive your certificate. If you don't pass on the first attempt, you can review the relevant lessons and retake the exam with unlimited attempts.
On passing, you receive a downloadable and printable certificate of completion from CHCPTI. Keep it on file as proof of training, most Canadian healthcare employers and regulatory bodies expect workers to maintain a current certificate and renew it annually.
Bloodborne pathogen training is typically required every 12 months because workplace protocols, best practices, and regulatory expectations can change. Annual retraining keeps workers current with their facility's Exposure Control Plan and any updated guidance from provincial health authorities. CHCPTI's $15 course makes annual renewal straightforward and affordable.
This course covers the online, knowledge-based component of bloodborne pathogens training. Some employers may also require a facility-specific on-site component, such as skills validation or equipment orientation. Check with your employer regarding any additional on-site requirements beyond this certification.